The Everyday Life of Team 7
by psycotic-barbie
Summary: A series of one-shots between Sakura and Team 7 depicting funny situations and sad moments.
1. Chapter 1

Heey, soooo, I just caught up to the latest chapter (no excuses…ok maybe just this: I'm a student and we're meant to study, more so than I do, but I do my fair share!) and I thought, to reward myself (and because I got an infinite amount of inspiration from the catch-up) I would write a series of one-shots with Sakura and team 7 'incidents'. There aren't any real pairings, equally it could be said that they're very subtle and anyone can interpret the stories however they see fit – if they see a couple then it's there, and if they don't then it's not.

That's not to say that there won't be any pairings, although right now I'm very pro a certain couple so I would be too biased towards them, which is why I'm making it more a friendship fic than a romance one.

Enjoy and review (because I'm a review whore and I don't mind constructive criticism – I will cry for hours later regretting that statement -)!

Standard Disclaimer: This fanfic is meant for purely entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental (though I doubt anyone could be as imbalanced as Sakura or as socially constipated as Sai). Any resemblance to real events is also purely coincidental (because it's completely hypothetical, although if people travelled together and changed one another I suppose that could be similar…). Characters are creations of Masashi Kishimoto. All rights reserved. Batteries not included.

* * *

Sakura stirred in her cocoon of blankets on what seemed like the forest ground. How had she gotten in said blankets? Last she remembered, she and Sai had been fighting rogue ninja after a fairly routine mission that Tsunade-shishou insisted required only two of the usual four members of team 7. The details of the fight were hazy, and the events that followed even more so.

She opened emerald eyes to gaze at the comfortable scene that was spread out in front of her. Before her was a cosy, if not a tad too hot, campfire that cast a lovely glow over the clearing and had it not been for the fact that they were on a mission, she would have thought there was a touch of romance in the atmosphere. Over the fire sat a roasting fish that, if not carefully watched, would burn in the next 2 minutes and if she weren't so swept up in the delectable aroma emanating from it, she would have gone over to it and taken it off the heat herself.

Beyond the fire and against a tree facing her sat the latter half of the duo, drawing as if there was not a thing in the world to be concerned with; and there very well may have been nothing to concern themselves with seeing as there was not another soul in sight (or so she would think if she even bothered to twist her head to look around; as it was she was too relaxed to feel threatened by her lack of knowledge on their situation).

If she had been in her right mind, she would have questioned why she was allowed to sleep at ease (as easily as she could get, luxuries were too far and too few in between for ninja's). Indeed, there were many more things she would like to have discussed with him given better mental preparation.

However, one thing she could not ignore, despite the content atmosphere and she decided to voice her concern for said aspect.

"Why am I not wearing what I was wearing when we left?" she asked in as calm a tone as she could manage.

Without even flinching or looking up from his sketchpad, he replied, "Forgive me for not taking into account your preference to remain filthy, but my personal dispute over cleanliness won out."

If she had not heard the words that came out of his mouth, she would have thought that his steady tone implied they were speaking of something more trivial than her chastity. As if he would actually ask for forgiveness; only he could couple an apology with an offence to the other party.

As the words sunk in, she visibly twitched and began mumbling about anal retentive clean freaks, when she suddenly stopped and sat up looking at Sai.

"Wait; let me see if I understand, so YOU changed me?"

"Yes." Sai said, as unfazed as ever.

"You...you physically took OFF my clothes?"

"Yes." He still hadn't looked towards the girl, who seemed to be debating whether she should cover herself with the blankets or punch the emotionless idiot for being so clueless.

"And then you put me in a different set of clothing?" She was too astonished to make the questions more thoughtful and witty, instead settling for painfully blunt (something she knew he would understand).

After some thought, he looked up, his eyes held mild amusement.

"Yes."

"And at some point, between taking the old clothes off and putting the new ones on, I was indecently dressed?"

"Naked, actually."

"My bad, I was naked?"

"Yes."

His simple replies betrayed no emotion on his part and she grew increasingly annoyed at having to spell out to him that 'yes, she was indeed pissed off' and hadn't he been spending enough time with her to know when he should show the appropriate amount of caution when dealing with the hormonally imbalanced kunoichi?

"Why?"

Thoroughly confused, he closed his eyes and tilted his head as if in thought, before responding, "You were starting to smell foul. I refused to carry you any further without at least changing you."

The visible 'twitch' transformed into 'twitches', as she began death glaring at him for being so oblivious.

"Sai, I'm going to ignore the smell comment – "if only I could ignore the smell with that same determination" – AT WHAT POINT DID YOU THINK IT WAS SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE TO CHANGE A GIRL?"

She hoped the half-crazed look in her eyes would make him think twice about answering with a half-assed reply, though she shan't have worried.

"…do females generally take to heart commentary on body odour?"

Thus began the deep breathing exercises Sakura hoped would control her temper that was beginning to get the best of her. When she felt her blood pressure drop slightly, she thought it was safe to talk again without thinking of the millions of ways to kill the Root member and throwing it off as him being M.I.A (or, if caught, K.I.A). Somehow, she didn't think Tsunade-shishou would appreciate her apprentice having this kind of murder on her hands.

"If you weren't a social retard, I would have strangled you for saying that; as it stands, I'll just explain. Sai, you don't change people of the opposite sex regardless of how they 'smell'! That would only be acceptable if the person in question were someone you were deeply intimate with."

"Ah." As if learning something new, he nodded and wrote something down in the corner of the pad.

Though she was visibly relieved that he appeared to have understood, she couldn't help but be slightly suspicious of his immediate reply. What, no mockery? No insult? That was too unlike the impassive boy she knew and…well, tolerated.

"You understand?"

"Yes, In future I will not change you irrespective of the repulsively pungent stench your body produces naturally. – "Most people just call that sweat, Sai!" – I've been trained for such outcomes to breathe through my mouth." And then, to round off his statements, he added a fake smile for good measure.

'It was almost too good to be true that he'd have changed into a more considerate person. I'm almost certain he knows he's insulting me…'

With great restraint, Sakura managed to ignore most of what he said. She nearly believed her patience had increased since the last time they had argued over something equally as profound to her, but meaningless to him.

"See that you do…" she said, partially satisfied at getting her point across and partially satisfied because this was the least insulted she'd ever come out of a conversation with Sai.

They finally got up from their respective spots on the ground and began packing their materials (her ridiculous amount of blankets and his uncountable sketchpads) away to sit down in front of the fire. They had decided (not mutually, but he knew better than to argue with her about food after just having escaped an early death from the previous argument) to eat before heading back to Konoha.

The time passed on pleasantly, without much conversation; and even though Sakura was a naturally chatty person, even she felt that anything said right now could and would kill the mood.

"And is it safe to assume that that would entail that I not bathe you to relieve any further stench issues for the next 24 hours?"

They later arrived back at the village with a very confused Sai covered entirely in bruises and a very traumatised Sakura hugging herself muttering about her lost innocence.


	2. Chapter 2

Yes people, I have my deep moments too (it was hard to pass up an opportunity in which Sakura got to explain her feelings in song form – I feel like making a musical all of a sudden =/).

I know it's been a while, and there will be funnier moments after this, I promise (I prefer the humorous ones too, trust me) but I needed to have at least one sad moment ( or a moment of sudden realisation at the very least).

Gjennomgå vennligst =) (google translate it if you don't know what it means; I figured it must get annoying to see it all the time, so I thought I'd make it a fun game to put it in different languages…my sense of 'fun' needs some work)

Standard Disclaimer: This fanfic is meant for purely entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Any resemblance to real events is also purely coincidental. Characters are creations of Masashi Kishimoto. All rights reserved.

* * *

Some things never changed; whether she was in team 7 with Kakashi-sensei or the embellished team 7 with Yamato-taicho; whether she was being compared to her teammates or to the kunoichi's of the other teams; whether she trained under the famous 'Copy Cat Ninja' as a kunoichi or under the Hokage as a Medic-nin.

She was never good enough.

_****_

You know it ain't easy

_**For these thoughts to leave me**_

_**There's no word to describe it**_

_**In French or in English**_

_**Cuz diamonds they fade**_

_**And flowers they bloom**_

_**And I'm telling you**_

_**That these feelings won't go away**_

It didn't matter that she had an epiphany after the chuunin exams that she was wasting her time trying to achieve the impossible (seducing an UCHIHA, of all people!); or that she was left behind by her sensei and teammates who searched for greater power (or revenge, as was the case with Sasuke-kun); or that she didn't want to be left behind and so attempted to attain the same power to glue them together again (if ever they crossed paths); or that, following the reunion and subsequent regrouping, she was still not quite ready to assist in the bringing back of the one person that she believed she 'couldn't live without'.

Naivety was definitely a pretty colour on her.

_****_

These feelings won't go away

_**They've been knocking me sideways**_

_**They've been knocking me out lately**_

_**Whenever you come around me**_

Despite her lack of talent – that was decidedly what the others had over her, she found, because even Lee had ambition that rivalled the best ninja's regardless of chakra – she felt that it wasn't impossible to accomplish her many dreams (to have the old and the new team 7 combined), to marry Sasuke-kun while Naruto married Hinata and have barbecues together and have children together and their sharingan children with pink hair would marry the latter's byakugan children with blonde hair and cheeky grins, to have her sensei's – yes, Kakashi, Yamato and Tsunade – acknowledge that even though she was never on par with the other two - she didn't consider Sai an original member to be compared to, though she finally got comfortable around him - that she was still formidable as a force that shouldn't be reckoned with (if only for her profound knowledge ), and to live out the rest of her life happily as a ninja(as happily as one can possibly have it as a ninja anyway).

She was never above chuunin level – barely passable even at that stage, though some rumours had gone around that perhaps it was not on her own merit that she passed in the first place. Consider this; it was a team game, regardless of how she made it, that's where she was.

She was never going to live to see the day when Sasuke-kun, Naruto, Sai, Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-taicho would come together and accept one another – not in this lifetime anyway (and if she were to hazard a guess, not in any lifetime).

She was never going to marry Sasuke-kun and have barbeques with Naruto and Hinata and have little sharingan babies with pink hair that would marry little byakugan babies with blonde hair and cheeky grins – not even, if by some miracle, he was convinced to come back to the village.

She was never going to have the acknowledgment of her sensei's, who continued to compare her (despite denying it profusely when she was in their presence) to her former teammates (even SAI!) – In hindsight, she should have known there was no possible method that would change their opinion of her as the girl who was consistently being rescued and therefore best left in the shadow.

And she was never, not ever, going to live a happy life as a ninja.

Not as a kunoichi and not as a medic.

Not as a member of team 7 and not as an individual.

Not by being trained by the famous 'Copy Cat Ninja' and not by the Hokage.

But most of all, not as the only girl between two boys, who simply chose not to recognise her worth (writing her off as 'the weak one').

_****_

These feelings won't go away

_**They've been knocking me sideways**_

_**I keep thinking in a moment that**_

_**Time will take them away**_

_**But these feelings won't go away**_


	3. Chapter 3

HEY! So I'm glad that people like this and all, trust me, but I really enjoy commentary!

Also, this one was kind of long, in my head at least, it didn't look like it amounted to very much when I put it up – sad times…so it'll be in two parts, enjoy!

S'il vous plaît revue! – I actually don't know how well they translate…would this technically be considered accurate? =S

* * *

It appeared to be a day like any other for the easily excitable young man; except, of course, for the fact that he finally had a date with the ever-elusive love of his life!

"Oh, how my heart longs for the time my beloved will come and take me away!" the blonde youth sang into the comfort of his room. He changed in a hurry in the gaudiest orange and blue clothes he could possibly find (clothes that really should be prohibited, for ninja's and civilians alike) and sat, fretting, by the front door in anticipation of the night ahead.

The bell rang.

Naruto jumped up and ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to tackle the mess that was the result of hours of worrying and 'pulling out of roots' that came with pre-date jitters.

"Ah, these knots are im-possible!" he stamped his foot in impatience and huffed before turning towards the door. The young boy's heart beat a mile a minute, as he opened the door and who should be standing in wait but the extremely pale (almost 'snow' white) teammate that he had been avoiding all week?

Naruto gasped dramatically, covering his mouth with both hands, "Sai!...What…what are you doing here?" he laughed nervously to cover up the anxiety that welled up. Sai looked around suspiciously, as he stepped over the threshold and made his way past Naruto, into the living room and back out into the hall.

"Where is that despicable person? The one you asked out on a date?!"

And suddenly a chillingly calm voice was heard from the entrance. "And what, may I ask, is going on here?"

Naruto let loose another dramatic gasp while Sai grunted in contained fury, as they both turned to see…Sasuke!

"This…this isn't what it looks like!" the eccentric blonde tried to plead, looking between the two dark haired boys that could have been twins. Sasuke pushed his way further in; with each step he took, he gazed menacingly towards Sai, then at Naruto in an accusatory manner.

"I was led to believe it would be just us, I did not know you would betray me like this!" the Sharingan-user huffed in exaggerated anger, while pointing at an equally exaggeratedly angry Sai.

"Imagine my surprise, then, when I find out he asked you to go out with him and not me!" Sai spat at the other boy, raising his shaking fist as if ready at any point to sock Sasuke depending on his reply.

"No! No! There's nothing going on between us! Sasuke, you're my one true love!" Naruto begged him to see reason, but Sasuke was blinded to the truth it seemed. He shook with rage, as he stepped back out almost as if in disbelief that someone would ever deceive him in this way.

Finally, he put his hands to his head and yelled, "Enough! I will destroy you both, as I am an avenger and here…I shall have my revenge!"

- TO BE CONTINUED -

"NOOOO! And it was getting to be so interesting! Just as Sasuke had to find out too…" the pink-haired medic grumbled into her oh-so-quiet office. She sighed, rolling her shoulder muscles, which had become stiff from being in one position for so long. As Sakura got up from her desk, she contemplated whether she had procrastinated enough or whether she could get away with reading another dramatic fanfiction regarding rumours of the suspicious love triangle involving those lovely teammates of hers. However, taking in the sight of her already overflowing inpatients box, she decided that it truly was enough, and that the fanfiction would have to take a backseat until another night when she was overworked (because let's face it, these stories were made only more exciting when she was meant to be doing more important work).

She had a long night ahead of her.

-NEXT MORNING -

Fridays – the one day every week that the team seven members (old and new) dedicated to each other (either to train or to eat together or to just plain catch up). That was one such Friday, when they decided that a good workout session (to gauge each other's progress) was in order. As per usual, Mr Punctuality himself was the first at their meeting place by the bridge (yes, by it, not on it; a recently acquired phobia of falling through said bridge had settled itself in the normally quite practical young man – though the fall wasn't much to write home about). The next two to show up were the obnoxious blonde and the boy who suffered from a mental growth stunt.

Naruto looked around, hoping to catch sight of the only girl that could handle being around these three particular boys long enough without feeling an aneurysm coming on (to explain: while Sasuke wasn't necessarily frustrating, his monosyllable vocabulary put a baby's to shame and his inherent Uchiha-ness – when not blinded by his looks – would make anyone want to rip their hair out; while Sai wasn't necessarily aggravating, his attempts at being friendly fell just shy of verbal – and psychological – abuse, not forgetting his irritating facial spasms he assumed were a smile but looked more like a psychotic rendition of Naruto's full-on grin; and while Naruto wasn't necessarily annoying (who was she kidding?), the voice in which he called out his 'life mottos' and gave his 'speeches of adventure' almost put Gai-sensei to shame – no exaggeration, she would never understand how sweet little Hinata had been coerced into finding him 'sexy'…'cute', maybe, 'attractive', debatable, 'sexy', she had no words.)

"Teme, where's Sakura-chan? She's usually here before us…" he scratched and tilted his head, hoping that would make her appear faster.

Sasuke shook his head and muttered, "I'm not her keeper, dobe." But even he found it strange that she wasn't there, that Naruto managed to get there before her would be an eternal shame on whatever dignity she had left (Sasuke was quite the dramatic little avenger).

Before a full-out brawl could ensue due to the name-calling, Sakura ran to the meeting place, skidding to a halt in front of a mildly amused Sai (which was never a good thing).

"I am – so sorry – overslept – heavy workload – procrastinating with fanfiction - " she managed between giant gulps of air attempting to regulate her breathing pattern. Of course, none of what she said registered in the boys' minds, if their blank faces were any indication. But neither Sai nor Sasuke would ever risk asking her to repeat herself, either because it would be a tantamount waste of time or it would hurt his pride to have to admit he hadn't heard the first time (respectively). They needn't worry, in the company of the most curious ninja in history.

"What?" came a most profound question from Naruto, who was blinking as if that would help decipher her incomplete sentence. When she'd finally calmed down, after mentally taking that note that she should start up her morning jogging sessions again, she stood upright and elaborated.

"I was just apologising for oversleeping, I had lots of paperwork and I lost track of time while I was reading this fanfiction, so - "

"Fanfiction? What fanfiction? What's a fanfiction?" if it was possible, he looked even more confused (the poor child), which only served to exacerbate the annoyance the Sharingan-user was feeling and astonish the pinkette.

"Naruto, you don't know what fanfiction is? It's - "

"We don't have time for this, you're already late, we don't need any more delays!" snapped Sasuke, once again cutting her off before she could alleviate the curiosity. He began heading towards the training grounds, with busily-sketching Sai in tow, mumbling about silly little annoyances and over-exuberant blondes in a very un-Uchiha manner.

Sakura shook her head at her teammate's impatience and vowed to Naruto she would tell him in more detail when they went to eat together later on.

~ AFTER TRAINING ~

As was customary, they trained hard and went to Ichiraku's for a bowl of well-deserved (if not entirely healthy) ramen, because Naruto would have nothing else and because none of the others had it in them to fight against it anymore.

Naruto sat, bouncing enthusiastically on his stool, against the middle of the bar with Sasuke on his left and Sai on his right. Sakura stood behind this scene, relishing in the memory of the previous night and how rumours had a tendency of being derived from moments such as these. She chuckled and took her seat next to Sasuke (because no matter how many years she'd gotten to know Sai and got comfortable with him, she'd just known Sasuke that much longer).

The boys turned to her, hearing the chuckle and fearing the worst (well; between failing to see the humour, wanting to be in on the joke and fearing the worst, respectively between them), and Naruto remembered the promise she had made and stated/yelled that now was as good a time as any to be told what a 'fanfiction' was.

"Fanfiction; dear, sweet, simple Naruto; are fictional – though sometimes based on life events – stories written by fans of certain characters/movies/dramas/cartoons/etc. in a range of genres." hoping that would be enough of an explanation, she gave her order in wanting to be fed soon. She semi-wished he would continue questioning her about it (but again, only semi-wished, the pestering may get on her nerves more than she ever let on. However, she really wanted to let him know about the particular fanfiction that was her guilty obsession at the moment).

And true to his nature, he continued with his enquiry, giving her the pleasure of revealing to them (not entirely), in the most innocent way, what was being written about them. What made it even more comical was that their food had arrived, and she couldn't have timed it better if she tried. This was how the conversation went:

Naruto: So what were you reading about?

Sakura: About some very well-known ninja's.

Naruto: OOH! Is this one of those true-to-life ones you were talking about?

Sakura: *smirks into bowl* yes, somewhat.

Naruto: Who was in it? Am I? Are you? Is it a romance? A rom-com?

Sakura: You are, but I'm not. It focuses more on the guys of team 7.

*catches attention of the other two, though neither will openly question*

Naruto:…is it a rivalry fiction?

Sakura: *tries to put on a more mysterious air* no Naruto, there's suspense! And drama!

Naruto: Does someone die?

Sakura: Probably me, with brain damage…no Naruto. I said suspense, not tragedy.

Naruto: Oh…how is it suspenseful? And dramaful?

Sakura: *smiles big and bright* I'm so glad you asked! The suspense lies in the romantic conquests, as does the dramatic nature!

Naruto: But…you didn't mention any girls…?

Sakura: Nope, I didn't.

Sasuke, Sai, Naruto: O.O (except Sai…but he wasn't smiling, so what she said must have affected him slightly)

Sakura: Well, this has been a most stimulating conversation, but I simply must get back to work! Ciao!

And thus ended what could only be said as the start of possibly the worst chain of events known to Konoha…by the end of it, she regretted mentioning anything to do with it, and in future would stop herself short if she ever got any brilliant ideas to tease them again.


End file.
